Anyone have a sound system on their bike?

[John in CR]

I'm not talking about putting earbuds in your ears and riding, because to me that's a full step less safe than the idiots riding or driving while talking on the cell phone. I want to put some tunes on my bikes and am wondering what others have done. I plan to use one of the tiny, high efficiency amplifiers I have that were originally designed for PC use along with small high efficiency speakers, so at less than 10W I'll be able to rock my surroundings to whatever extent I desire. Plus they'll I'll use some tricks from my boat and jeep systems to make them more weather resistant than I consider my bike to be.

I'll separate the men from the boys in another thread to come with what music do you listen to.

John

 

[snowranger]

I have this setup. http://www.gooddeals18.com/product/...__yacht_2_speakers__amplifier__radio_pkg.html for $87.

It simply rocks. 100 watt amplifier, has remote control, and the speakers are waterproof. Sometimes I feel like it is too loud. I used a switching laptop power brick to convert 48 volt battery down to 16 volts. This system operates between 12 and 16 volts.

 

[mikefish]

i had an iPod connected to a double speaker pod hanging from my handle bars for a few days.

i found it to be too distracting. i took it off, and dont really miss it considering i need every edge i can get to keep from getting run over by the cagers.

maybe im just too paranoid! lol

 

[John in CR]

i had an iPod connected to a double speaker pod hanging from my handle bars for a few days.

i found it to be too distracting. i took it off, and dont really miss it considering i need every edge i can get to keep from getting run over by the cagers.

maybe im just too paranoid! lol

I understand. I plan to vary the volume inversely with the level of focus required, just like while driving a car. One advantage that I see will be that pedestrians and all those slower cyclists will hear me coming. A future plan is a highly directional extremely loud higher frequency horn that I can directly point and shoot at cagers needing reminding that the road isn't only theirs.

John

 

[Takemehome]

I use this with my MP3 player.
http://www.wirelessground.com/lgpostspms.html

Loud enough, good quality sound for the size, portable and cheap < $ 20.

 

[dogman dan]

Wind noise makes it too hard for me to hear when going fast. I couldn't even hear a good boombox. Deafness from construction work doesn't help any. When I do really long rides, and need to slow down to 15 mph or less, I use the earbuds with an ipod. The trick is to set the ipod low enough to still hear an approaching car. I don't use em in towns, or roads with no shoulder to ride right of the driving lane.

 

[Cackalacka]

Two years ago, my girl gave me an iPod accessory that was essentially a box with a RCA cable hooked up to two 1 1/2" speakers which one can attach to ones belt (or some other connection) via a carabiner.

It's an awesome device whenever I take the dog for a stroll around the neighborhood, while not very loud or full, I do have the ability to spread a modest amount of funk for a ten foot radius.

When I tried latching it on some of my maiden voyages, I noticed that it was drowned out by the wind noise once I got above 10 mph, and usually leave it behind whenever I run errands or go for journeys.

Should I ever go for a long-haul, I'd probably look into something more realistic. The thought of ear-pieces in my ear is a no-go, drivers around here warrant a Jedi's reflexes and awareness, and zoning out to some beats while strapped to an ebike is a deathwish. That said, having a decent, bass-heavy system might be a good thing if it makes me more visible (or in this case, audible) shooting around town...

 

[Zoot Katz]

A friend has an iHome2Go on her bike.
It's a rugged impact and weather resistant iPod container with built in speakers, amp, batteries and wireless control.
It's about the same size as a water bottle and mounts in a similar cage.

It provides tunez that radiate among a close group of riders.
Approximately a 6' (2 meter) radius on medium power. It's somewhat directional and not as audible further behind.
It sounds best from the saddle.
The handlebar mounted remote clicks off so will also work from inside your pocket when there's rain.

I don't know that there wouldn't be any interference if using it on an electric bike.